WILD BANANA PLANTS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT IN OIL PALM PLANTATIONS

Several species of wild banana plants can be encountered in oil palm plantations and a number of them are considered as weeds. Some wild banana species in Malaysia are Musa acuminata, Musa violascens, Musa gracilis, Musa balbisiana, Musa beccari, Musa campestris, Musa monticola, Musa borneensis, Musa ornata and Musa juwiniana. These wild banana plants produce inedible fruits with many large hard seeds. Musa ornata, M. violascens and M. gracilis are cultivated as ornamentals in gardens because of their unique appearance with brightly coloured bracts and other colourful parts in red, purple, pink, or white. This paper gives a brief account of these wild banana species and deliberate in general the classification, names, distribution, habitats, plant features, pollination, dispersal, and uses. The most common wild banana weed encountered in oil palm plantations is M. acuminata. The weed status and management aspects of the wild banana weeds are deliberated and focussed on and to a lesser extent references to the control of unwanted banana plants/disease infected plants are also given. The early detection and control of wild banana weeds are the strategies adopted for the management of these weeds in oil palm plantations. In the integrated weed management approach, preventive measures are preferred. When planters encounter serious infestation of these weeds, several control measures of applying herbicides (2,4-D herbicides, glyphosate isopropylamine, metsulfuron-methyl) such as trunk injection, insertion of treated sticks and cut and application are possible. In the writer’s opinion, cutting and applying a few drops of 2,4-D herbicide concentrate is probably the obvious recommendation for controlling wild banana weeds in serious widespread infestation in replanting fields and immature planting in oil palm plantations. Keywords: Wild banana plants, Musa species, weeds, ornamental, oil palm, management, herbicides.